If you wanted to feast your eyes on top class vintage machinery this past weekend at the Exciting Cars Showdown in Nagoya, the area around the G-Works stand was the place to be. This S30 looked like it just rolled off the production line, restored to perfection and packing a mighty 350 HP punch, thanks to a highly modified 3.2L L28 motor. The Hakosuka next to it, again from G-Works, was running a 3.1L L28, good for 300 HP. 

Part of the JDM Option family along with Option, Option 2 and G-Works is of course Drift Tengoku (drift heaven), or DoriTen for short. The cars they had rounded up for their display were some of the coolest at the show and I especially liked this JZX100 from Car Hospital Unit. On top of the catchy flake paint and graphics the 500 HP 1JZ is just what you need when blasting around Nikko circuit.

This was a blast from the past. I shot this Veilside Fortune RX7 ages ago when it was first show at TAS before eventually making its debut in the Fast and Furious movie.

I like how the guys at Final Motion do things. They will slap a lightweight carbon-Kevlar wide-body kit onto anything that passes by their shop in Osaka, strip the interior down and weld up a custom roll cage. This K12 March is the perfect example. It's based on the Japan only 12SR version which runs a highly tuned 110 HP 1.2L motor. The capacity has been upped to 1.4L and the engine should develop in the region of 150 HP. I test drove the 12SR when it first came out, might have to post up a feature as it remains to this day one of the most fun cars I have driven!

View from the back. With well under 1000 kg this thing must handle like it's on rails!

Back in the G-Works area Restored brought some very cool Sunnys like this HB310…

…powered by a lightly tuned A12A breathing through 44 mm Solex carbs.

This was the one I liked the most however, not only for its mean stance…

…but for the way it had been tuned. Yep, that is a carbed 4AG, running a long list of Toda goodies which allow it to crank out just under 200 screaming horses. 

The interior is pure race car…

…while the fuel system at the back is nothing less than a work of art.

And on the subject of interesting engine swaps take a look at this C&Y Sports built KGC10…

…powered by a NA 2JZ. To boost the 230 HP an intricate nitrous oxide system has also been installed. Not as rare as an S20, but a lot more powerful!

Phoenix Power were all about R35 GT-Rs this year, their stunning red demo car being accompanied by a second car…

…one of the few in Japan running the new Trust turbo kit, good for 800 HP! Can't wait to get a ride in this thing!

I'm positive this will be the car that saves Orido. He is back at the top of his game after getting rid of the Aristo. Can't wait to see how he gets on during the course of this D1 season.

Right behind the Supra was this Koenig Celica built by the students at the NATS automobile university, we already saw this at TAS but I think it looks pretty cool, a nice 80's touch to a 90's car.

The guys at Wacky Mate showed up with two of my favorite cars from the whole show, their 420 HP TD06 powered FD…

…and their BNR32 demo car which someone spotted on the preview post. 

Kind of looks like the Phoenix Power R35, red on BBS wheels. 600 HP for this one, thanks to the responsive HKS T04Z single blower and Tomei Powered engine internals.

This FD is the result of a collaboration between Kazama Auto and Yashio Factory…

…obviously drift oriented. Not a fan of the rear lights personally.

More carbon matte black and 3M carbon wrap on this Dangun FD2.

The Burst C35 and S13 were some of the most colorful cars at the show…

…would be great to see a tsuiso run of these two against each other!

LED-mania continues, and I'm glad to report that these kits are getting better and better compared to the tacky DIY attempts of a few years ago. A lot of people are programming patterns into them too, turning the rear lights into a little animation show every time you flick the indicators left or right or step on the brake pedal.

This JZA80 looks like a mix between drag, drift and grip. This is a one off creation built by Special Body Okada…

…grabbing inspiration from the old JGTC Supras of a few years back. And take a look at that massive spoiler, fixed onto a special sub-frame sticking out of the rear bumper.

The NK Company FC3S won the best drop top of the show award in my book, not that there were many convertibles mind you. What made it so special on top of the Uras kitted exterior…

…was the 20B swap under the hood. The side-ported 3-rotor runs a pair of Trust TD06-20G turbines, good for 700 HP and 435 lb/ft of twist.

The interior was so clean, definitely one ride that has been well looked after.

Sunday afternoon Inada-san along with Manabu Suzuki gave out the awards to the best 10 cars of the show. Winners included Ueno's D1 BMW, the RYO D1 RX7, RE-Amemiya's Westfield, the matte black PAC R35 GT-R, and the RWD Blitz R35 GT-R said to be Nomuken's next D1 car.

And talking of rotary specialists RE-Amemiya here is what they brought to the show, their new Touge Special FD3S…

…and the crazy 13B NA powered Furin Kazan Westfield we already saw in detail last month.

The Pit Crew Chaser was also grabbed an award.

It's always so interesting to look out for cool engine swaps at the Exciting Car Showdown and I particularly liked the WTR Works Design Levin…

…running a 3S-GE out of a Toyota Altezza. 210 reliable horses and pretty good torque. Bet it doesn't scream like a 4AG though!

More engine swaps? How about an SR20DET in an Altezza? The HKS GT2835 is good for 400 HP…

…but if you want more smoothness and a little more power then this other offering from ADC with C&Y Sports might be more to your liking…

…thanks to the 420 HP 1JZ that was show-horned into the front of the SXE10!

More JDM goodness on the way from Nagoya!

-Dino Dalle Carbonare